This Is Now and That Was Before
by Nozomi
Summary: [SetoJou] An endless circle of desperation, slighted hope, love and searching... There is only one solution, and he must find it at all costs. See inside for full summary.
1. All Our Lives Get Complicated

This is my first story focusing mainly on the pairing of **Seto/Jou**, and only my second Yu-Gi-Oh fic, so please be kind.  
  
In this fic, you will be able to find **angst**, **lust**,** reincarnation**,** polytheistic-ness**, a bit of **OOC**, perhaps some **magic**, definitely a bit of **love **and, most importantly, **shounen ai **/** yaoi**. Read at your own risk. Other pairings that may be hinted at include _Jou/Mai, Jou/Yugi, Jou/Honda, _and perhaps even some _Jou/Anzu _(Bleck! But just for the heck of it, that)_. _These will in no way be focused on, as I really don't like them much, and should you choose to interpret them as just friendly-relations, that's all fine with me. ^.^ I might do just that, myself... x.x; Also, there will be small mentions of _Yami/Yugi_ and _Bakura/Ryou_ throughout.

Full Story Summary: _Cursed to wander the four corners of the earth, trapped eternally in an endless circle of incarnations in which he remembers all that is past. It all sprang from one forbidden taste of the Fruit of the Tree of Knowledge, and now Jounouchi Katsuya must find redemption and grace in the unlikeliest of places -- a single, tainted human._

Disclaimer: Nothing in Yu-Gi-Oh belongs to me. Unfortunately, that would include Ryou, Yami and Jounouchi. *cries*

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This Is Now and That Was Before  


**_Prologue: All Our Lives Get Complicated  
  
  
_~*~*~*~*~  
  
_She was walking in the garden one day  
When a snake slithered 'round her feet.  
  
"Follow me right over to this tree  
And I'll give you something good to eat."  
  
"I don't know, are you sure?  
I don't think it is right."  
  
"It doesn't matter, just open your mouth  
And take a tasty bite."  
  
She said to him, "I think it's a sin  
But, boy does it look ripe."  
  
He said to her, "Just take my word  
And I promise that you'll see the light..." _[1]  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
  


His eyes burned. His ears burned. His feet burned; but most of all, his whole body burned. Sand whipped mercilessly around his unprotected frace, flung into him by a harsh, cruel wind, and causing him to squint to be able to see what was ahead of him. The boy winced and flung his arm over his eyes, trying to ward off at least a bit of the flying sand from his vision.

Had it really been this sandy and dry the last time he had been this way? Now, it resembled something of where he'd met Yugi... but only resembled, because he had sworn not to trespass upon that part of the world ever again-- it held only memories, depressing memories at that, and he was sick and tired of memories, because he could never escape such things. But he tried, always tried-- it was the only thing he _could_ do. Try.

He was tired, so tired. His very bones ached with the listlessness they had long acquired. How long now, had it been since he had first set out on this seemingly endless journey on the off chance that he would run into that diamond in the rough, that one-in-a-billion chance? Decades? Centuries? __

Millennia?

And yet it seemed so much longer than it had been; he knew that too well. Each stumbling footstep seemed like he was attempting to walk through molasses; each blink of an eye seemed an hour of darkness.

__

~Others will experience ages in an instant, a lifetime in the blink of an eye. But for you, young trespasser of souls, it will make all the difference.~

What... _what_ had he done to deserve this, any of this? It was a question that haunted him every second of his strained, forced life. A question that he knew the answer to all too well, though it made only a bare facsimile of sense. He had failed; failed her, failed himself. It had been the last mistake he would make for a long, long while.

He wouldn't fail again.

"Damnit..." he coughed, spitting out a mouthful of sand as he did so, though it did nothing to lessen the gritty, dirty taste in his mouth. He grimaced and ground his teeth together, scrubbing tiredly at his eyes. Beneath him, his bare feet stumbled along, one shaking step forward at a time.

He had to... had to find...

The hot, ruthless sun above was beating harshly on his broken form, an unconscious attempt to quell his spirit. But he wouldn't give up; he couldn't. He had promised her, on that that fateful day, so long ago that that time was recorded in history as nothing but myths and legends, children's stories to scare them into obedience. His story was no joke; no haunting tale that he could banish into the night by a simple, comforting embrace. 

~_Each day will be spent in minute detail, each moment scorched into your mind's eye for all time.~_

He could remember _her,_ though; it was the only part of the curse, of this horrible pseudo-blessing of remembrance, that didn't serve to break his soul more than it had already eroded of it's own will. The only thing he had left to live _for._ Her memory.

__

~You will not be able to forget, but you will yearn for it not to be so, every conscious moment of the day.~

Her memory...

Shizuka...

The last of his strength gave out then, and he collapsed to his hands and knees, then fully and bodily to the sandy earth when even the use of those limbs failed him. Sand invaded his open, gasping mouth in a dry rush that nearly choked him, but he didn't care. Let it; let it choke him, suffocate his body. Let his mind descent into the empty obliviousness he so longed for, body and soul, if only for a few moment's reprieve.

Only sixteen turns this time; a very short plane of existence, compared to some of the others. But-- short, long what did it matter, really? Either way, he would continue his journey, endlessly, eternally, until he found it. Found what he was looking for; that one thing that he had had a dozen times a dozen since he had begun, and yet the one thing he could never seem to get truly and perfectly right.

The thing, the object, that promised the total oblivion he always looked for, and the reunion he had longed for since the dawn of his journey. The one thing that he had been promised he could find, if he only looked hard enough, only looked in the right place.

The one thing that could finally and totally release him from this hellish prison of endless life.

A harsh wind blew gritty sand into his eyes, his mouth, his ears; his vision began to blur and darken in a final act that he was all too familiar with, even as his lips silently mapped out the one, single word that was his fiery, inner torment;

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Love...

**********

"Seto! Big brother, hurry! I've found something!" a rough, childish voice rang out over the wind that was wildly whipping sand around a tall, lithe teen wearing all black, with a thick ebony scarf tied tightly around his face, masking his features. Sapphire eyes with an inherent coldness as deep as the stone they shared hue with blinked in mild surprise, before the youth shrugged slightly, barely just a twitching of the shoulders, and strode towards the sound of his little brother's voice, tugging the horse they had bought at the market reluctantly behind him as he did so.

"What is it, Mokuba?" Seto Kaiba had sent his little brother out in front of their traveling party partly as a lookout and partly to let him have some much-needed playtime; he hadn't actually expected the twelve-year-old to _find _something. "Stay away from it; it might be dangerous," he added, a needed afterthought for his treasured younger brother's safety; they were all each other had left in the world, and he wasn't about to ruin something like that with a simple bout of carelessness.

"Yes, Seto!" came the instant reply, causing Seto to smirk slightly. Mokuba was so innocent, so carefree; everything Seto himself was not. Mokuba wasn't tainted by the harsh realities of life; wasn't stained with metaphysical blood like he was.

Mokuba was the only thing that kept Seto from dying inside each and every day, and the brown-haired youth would give anything to see that it remained so for as long as he could possibly help it.

"Big brother, hurry up! I think he's still alive!"

A 'he' this time. Seto sped his footsteps a bit, despite whinnying protests from the horse. _He's found a person? A human? Out here?_

The blue-eyed boy found his little brother kneeling worriedly over a largish, sand-covered lump, frantically attempting to dig the lump out. Seto's chilly gaze swept over the person lying prostrate on the shifting ground, noting the ragged, care-worn clothing that was barely more than rags draped over an almost too-slender frame, golden-blonde, messy hair strewn this way and that across the strange boy's forehead and into his tightly clenched eyes. The blonde youth's mouth was open, and sand was rapidly collecting on his lips.

"Are you sure he's not dead?" There was not much to prove that he wasn't, Seto mused inwardly.

"Yes." Mokuba nodded. "See; he's still breathing."

And, indeed, he was; it was very slight, however, and diminishing by the moment. Seto's upper lip curled in disgust as his eyes swept over that prone form once more. Weak. This boy was weak.

"Maybe he should be dead. He looks like nothing but a worthless, pathetic mongrel. A dog." Seto turned away, tugging on the reigns that were looped in his hands. "Leave him, Mokuba. Let's get going."

Mokuba's eyes widened. "But, Seto--" he paused, glancing down as a slight groan escaped the dry lips of the blonde boy, then looked back up hurriedly. "We can't just _leave_ him here!"

"I assure you, we can."

"But--" Another cough, and the strange boy shifted fitfully, lost in the throes of unconsciousness, moaning. "There isn't an oasis for _miles_, and he could _die_ out here! Please, big brother! We have to help him!"

Seto's eye twitched, and he bit back his retort instantly. Mokuba was right, of course. It was times like these, however, that he severely wished that Mokuba wasn't always playing his conscience. "...Fine. Wake him up. He'll come with us. For now." He bit out. The blonde puppy didn't deserve their assistance, but Mokuba wanted to help, and so they would.

A moment of silence broken only by the wind and the sand in the tall youths' ears, then Mokuba's choked reply. "He... won't wake up. Seto..."

Lips thinning and eyes narrowing slightly, Seto whirled and walked to the boy and his kid brother, tugging the horse along with him but managing to hide his irritation when Mokuba looked pleadingly up at him.

"Hold the reigns," he told Mokuba sharply, holding said object out. "This is as good a time as any to check that our newest purchase has the correct stamina we require."

The black-haired child took them immediately, standing up and backing away as Seto leaned down to pick the blonde youth from the ground. Sand fell in rivulets off of the body, like some twisted crafting of water, and Seto could have sworn that five handfuls of sand fell out of the unconscious boy's mouth as the boy's head fell limply onto the taller youth's chest. A half-mumble, half-groan escaped the blonde youth's lips as Seto none-too-gently hauled him upwards, the chocolate-haired youth staggering a bit under the full weight of the other. Seto regained his lost balance after barely a moment had passed, lifting the boy up and slinging the body over the brand-new saddle of the horse, then pausing a moment to tie straps of leather to the boy and the saddle.

"You're just lucky we aren't too far from home." Seto muttered darkly to the golden-haired youth, making sure to pitch his words so Mokuba wouldn't catch them. "Otherwise there would be no stopping me from leaving you here to rot, mongrel. Feel lucky." His only reply was another graon that was almost drowned out by the whipping wind as he double-checked the straps to make sure they were secure, then turned his attentions back to his brother, though Seto left one hand hooked on the leather ties to steady the horse and her passenger.

"Let's go, Mokuba."

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[1] - Lyrics taken from "The Devil Is Bad" by _The W's_.

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Whew! Prologue done! *wink* Well? What does everyone think about it? I know it might be kind of confusing, but all will be explained in due time, minna. *smirk* And pretty soon there will be some real Seto/Jou action. *snicker*

Review, please! Reviews make me happyyyyyy~!!

Threnody: No, they make you hyper.

*pouts* Same thing!


	2. Playing The Way You Play

Chapter Warnings: a bit of cursing, polytheism, slight angst, flashback-stuff, maybe a hint of Ryou/Bakura, not much really... ^.^;

Full Story Summary: _Cursed to wander the four corners of the earth, trapped eternally in an endless circle of incarnations in which he remembers all that is past. It all sprang from one forbidden taste of the Fruit of the Tree of Knowledge, and now Jounouchi Katsuya must find redemption and grace in the unlikeliest of places -- a single, tainted human._

Many Thanks Go Out To: **Kitsune Hashiba**, **Blue Lagoon Loon**, **BluJay**, **Alowl**, **Tetsuo-Shima**, **RyogazGal**, **The 7th Toraphim**, **Taito-kisses**, the **anonymous** reviewer, **daisy** (and her **yami**), **Synchronized Love**, **Hyatt Insomnia**, **Li**, **Lady Geuna**, **Gothic Anime Gal**, and **Demonic Angel** for all the lovely reviews! I really appreciate it, minna!

Oh, and for those of you who complained about how Seto was so mean to Jou-- I'm trying to keep them as IC as possible for as long as possible; besides, Seto doesn't know Jou yet. If this had somehow been set in the show, maybe Seto would have saved him without so much pushing from Mokuba-chan, hm?

... Or not. -.-;

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This Is Now and That Was Before  
_Chapter One: Playing The Way You Play_

_It had taken them months to reach this place; this palace of the High Beings, the Gods' House. Months of harsh climes and quiet suffering, of dwindling hope as each day crawled by; fading hope of ever making it in time._

It stood before them, like some majestic painting of gold, brilliant hues sparkling in the light of the midmorning sun. Sapphire, ruby, amber, cobalt, emerald; all these colors and more shone in Jou's vision, and for one breathless moment he gaped in wonder and awe. It was... simply magnificent. Unearthly.

"Big Brother? Are you alright?"

Then he came crashing back to drab reality, and he flushed, guilt flooding through him at the thought that he had almost forgotten why they had come here in the first place.

"Yeah, Shizuka, 'm fine. Nuttin' ta worry 'bout." Katsuya Jounouchi dredged up a half-hearted grin in the face of his little sister's worry, turning to glace back up at the majestic palace after a moment. "So. Guess this's it, huh?"

Shizuka nodded, reaching up to catch his bigger hand in her own, a move that brought a wave of nostalgia to the surface of the blonde's emotions and caused his breath to hitch at the childish adoration she showed him. Even after all the hardships they had suffered together, after all the promises broken and injuries taken, she still looked up to him as she always had. It touched him to think about it, each and every time.

Jou smiled down at his little sister and gave her small hand a reassuring squeeze, amber gaze flicking to the hard-won stones he held so protectively in his other hand. They were hardly more than large pebbles, but they had a supernatural glow about them, shining in the most brilliant shades of crimson, cobalt, emerald, and amber he'd ever seen in his life, those colors topped only by the ones of the palace that lay before him now. 

The called it the Center Sight, this house of the Gods', because it lay at the very center of the land, at the center of the four Lower Palaces of the North, East, South and West. It was a veritable feat upon itself to try and enter such a place as this, for anyone who dared must first travel to each of the Lower Palaces and pass four challenges given to them by the High Ones who dwelled there. Each challenge was specifically crafted for the one who would take it, and each was designed to test the strength of a certain virtue. Upon surmounting each challenge, Jou had been presented with a stone, which he had been told would prove that he was worthy to be let into the Golden Palace.

Red... was for love... to prove his love for Shizuka...

Blue... for devotion... that he would do anything for her...

Green... was trust... a test not of his trust for her, but of his trust in himself... a difficult task indeed...

And amber, the same shade as his eyes... the faith that he had in his little sister, and in the result of their journey...

"Welcome, travelers!"

Jou's inner musing was abruptly shortened by the booming, feminine voice that echoed throughout the palace and reached the siblings' ears in a clear, ringing tone. As if commanded, the titanic shimmering gates the two had paused in front of groaned, slowly swinging open in an agonizingly tedious movement that set the blond's senses on alert for anything-- or **anyone**-- that he might lay eyes on beyond these strangely forbidding structures.

The strangely surreal sound of the twin gates grinding into an open position crashed noisily through the high-ceilinged entrance hall that was revealed past the opened doorway, but Jou's attention was immediately grabbed and kept by the lone figure that almost seemed to glide gracefully down the hall towards him and his little sister.

As the figure came closer, amidst an unnatural silence that was only vaguely noted by Jounouchi's subconscious, the blond youth realized that it was a female; tall and graceful, wearing flowing white robes and jet-black hair done up in an insanely intricate style that almost made it seem like it was alive against her head.

When the regal and strangely beautiful woman reached the pair waiting on the giant doorstep, she graced them both with a small smile as she took in their appearances with her dark gaze.

"Foreigners, I bid you welcome," she greeted, voice smooth and oddly relaxing. "I am Ishizuu, patron Goddess of Wine, Fertility, and Faith. [1] You, young mortals, may call me Isis, if you wish." And she awarded them with another of her eloquent smiles, tilting her head marginally in a gesture of welcome and invitation. "Welcome to the House of the Gods, the Center Sight."

She paused then, a silence that descended on them quickly, and after a moment of confused tension on Jou's part he realized that he was most likely supposed to introduce themselves and tell of their business there.

"Eh... Thanks," he grinned sheepishly at Isis' lone raised eyebrow, and the knowing look that sparkled mischievously behind her eyes. "Uh... 'M Katsuya Jounouchi, and this' my little sis, Shizuka. She's the reason we're here, actually."

Smiling, Isis inclined her head towards him and Shizuka in a move of acceptance. "As strange as this may seem to you, I happen to know all about you, Katsuya Jounouchi-- and of your quest. I think, perhaps, we may even know a few things that you yourself do not yet know."

Jou blinked. "'We'...?"

"Yes." Isis' eyes gained a mysterious glitter, but she did not elaborate on her cryptic response, instead turning towards the path from where she had come. "If the both of you will please follow me...? I believe you may find what you are looking for in here."

With a challenging snort at all the mysticism the lady was putting on, the blond obliged, but paused when his movement caused the jewels in his clenched fist to clink together. "Hey, lady? Don't ya want yer jewel-things back or nothin'?" He voluntarily held them up for her, but the elegant woman did not turn around to face him again, though she did tilt her head in acknowledgement, causing her braided rings of ebony hair to sway gently against her face.

"No, those jewels are none of my concern, young one. You are the passer of those various tests, are you not? I think perhaps you should keep them for awhile. They might be helpful in the near future."

Jou shrugged as she proceeded onward without another word. "Whateva..."

"Big Brother?" Shizuka tugged gently on his sleeve to catch his attention as he pocketed the stones.

"Yeah?"

"... Do you think this will actually work?"

For a moment, all he could do was stare at her; she had never questioned this journey before, just blindly trusted in him to pull her through everything. "Uh... Sure. Sure, this'll work, Shizuka! Ya know yer big brother'd do anythin' fer ya, right?" He grinned down at her jovially, and she couldn't help but smile back up at him.

"Of course!"

"Well, all right, then! Let's go get yer eyes fixed, hm?"

"Right!"

**********

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In a dark house  
In a dark room  
On a dark bed

_

Lay a boy, sunny-haired and golden-skinned, wrapped in blankets and covered with desert dust, groaning and panting in the midst of his dreams, shivering uncontrollably in the cool air. He was half-dead, saved from harsh Nature's hand only by the kindness of one young ebony-haired boy.

But even when he was barely half-alive, the dreams would not leave him.

On a stool next to that dark bed, watching attentively and at times setting a cool, damp compress onto the other's sweating forehead, was the black-haired boy, worry furrowing his brow at the sounds the blond was emitting in his deep slumber.

"Mokuba."

The boy glanced up quickly at the sound of his older brother's voice, hand still over the newly-dampened compress he had just applied.

"Go to bed. You need your rest."

Mokuba shook his head defiantly, emerald gaze darting back to rest upon his highly-unexpected patient. "He won't stop dreaming, Seto. And he's burning up. If I left him like this, he could--" the youth was cut off by a firm and unyielding hand on his shoulder.

"Bed. Now." Seto demanded, not liking at all the already-forming bruises under his younger brother's eyes. "I'll... watch over the puppy," the brown-haired youth added hesitantly at Mokuba's pleading look, smirking at the instant turnaround the simple phrase elicited in the younger boy.

"Thank you, Big Brother!" Smiling, Mokuba indulged in giving Seto a tight hug before he turned and ran off, making his way to his own small room.

Seto sighed and sat down on the stool his sibling had only recently vacated, scooting it back a bit when he found it set too close to the intruder for his own liking.

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Damn it. What have I gotten myself into now? He thought wryly, glaring at the blond body who was occupying his own bed; well, he very well couldn't have let _Mokuba_ give up his bed, now could he!

"I should have left you in the sand when I had a chance, mongrel."

His only response was a series of whimpers mostly muffled by a down pillow; a sound that soon faded away into the gray air of the room.

**********

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As Jounouchi and Shizuka obediently followed their Goddess guide down the immense Great Hall, the blond youth couldn't help but let his eyes wander as they walked, taking in all the sights at once until he thought his brain would overload with the immense beauty.

"Whoa. Dis ting's HUGE!" he commented, awed as his amber gaze took in painting after exquisite painting, sparkling stained glass windows and highly-detailed carvings and statues that almost seemed like they would move on their own given the command.

"It is as it should be," replied Isis. "This is, after all, the dwelling place of the Gods. We created it, and we would not create anything that was not beautiful in our eyes." The statement was strangely laced with some sort of undercurrent of emotion that Jounouchi could not identify, though it gave the words a second meaning.

"Uh... right." Jou agreed, grinning. "Looks like we got some a tha same tastes, lady. Though all dis stuff at once really ain't my style." His broad grin widened sheepishly.

"Indeed," was the Goddess' only remark.

Soon the trio of mortal and immortal came upon two lavishly decorated doors; one carved of marble and one of a jet-black stone. The dark-haired woman paused at the first, lighter door, pushing it open the slightest bit before she turned and faced the two of them again, smiling eyes alighting upon the red-haired female at once.

"Now, young mortal, if you would be so kind as to follow me, I will show you to our physician, Otogi Ryuuji. [2] He is waiting for you just beyond these doors. We have been expecting you both for a very long time, after all." Her dark eyes softened when Shizuka glanced up at her big brother pleadingly. "I am afraid, young one, that Katsuya Jounouchi will have to wait out here for you. If you like, you may look around this place a bit more," this last was directed towards a flustered Jou, "...Or perhaps you would like a guide?"

"Uh..." Jou scratched the back of his golden head sheepishly when he realized that Isis had sensed his nervousness at wandering around this place alone. "Sure, if that's all right, miss."

Isis gave him a small, unreadable smile. "Of course. You are our guests for the time being, after all. For as long as you would like, providing--" she paused. "But of course you would already know of that. Ryou!"

The Goddess gave Jou no time to comment on that last remark, for him to say that he had **not** known of whatever 'that' was or anything else, and the slender blond was still blinking rapidly in confusion when the darker door they had paused by opened; revealing the seemingly-frail visage of a young silver-haired male with kind chocolate eyes and a shy smile, who was wearing almost exactly the same style of robes as Isis, though his was a pale shade of sky blue instead of the pure, shimmering white the Goddess wore.

"Yes, Miss Ishtar? In what way may I assist you?" the boy inquired in a soft, strangely lilting voice that sent weird shivers down Jou's spine. The blond ignored them as best he could.

The Goddess turned to give the smaller youth a patient look. "Ryou, I would like you to accompany Mister Katsuya Jounouchi while Otogi and myself are busy with his sister in the other room. Is that all right, or are you busy at the moment?"

The boy, obviously Ryou, blinked in confusion, then broke out into a pretty smile, reaching up with one slender hand to push a stray strand of silver-white hair behind his blue-clad shoulder as he tilted his head to gaze behind Isis and stare at Jounouchi and his sibling.

"Oh, so the mortals have indeed arrived. I had so hoped they would!" Ryou's brown eyes sparkled as he approached the two mortals and held out a hand to Jou, which the blond immediately took, regretting it when he again felt that strange bout of tingles, this time emanating from wherever the silver-haired youth's skin touched his own.

"Of course I have time for this, Ishizuu! It has been so long since we have had a new face around here, has it not? And don't worry," the boy put as a whispered aside to Jou, noticing the bit of lackluster in the normally vibrant amber eyes, "I have that effect on just about everyone." He smiled brightly as the blond's eyes widened slightly.

"Then we leave him in good hands, young one." Isis told Shizuka knowingly, turning back towards the opened door. "Come. We mustn't keep him waiting any longer."

"...All right." Shizuka acknowledged, a bit sadly. "I'll see you later, Big Brother!" she smiled brightly at Jou and turned to follow the Goddess.

"No prob!" Jou exclaimed cheerfully, winking at her, the jovial grin that stretched his face bordering on plain 'idiotic'.

The heavy marble door closed heavily, resoundingly, behind the pair of mortal and immortal.

And in the shadows, a pair of gleaming violet eyes watched the proceedings in malicious glee.

**********

The boy was burning up, thrashing wildly in his nightmares. And yet he still wouldn't wake up.

Seto sighed heavily and tilted the boy's dingy blond head up, managing to get most of the herbal medicine down his throat before the boy twisted out of the chestnut-haired youth's grip and the golden head fell back onto the pillow, which was now stained with sweat and dirt along with the rest of the sheets.

When the boy's head turned to face him once again Seto set another cold, damp cloth on the sweating forehead. He had told Mokuba that he would care for the boy while his younger brother rested, and he wasn't going to go back on that promise and let the pup die, if it would mean so much to the black-haired boy; even if Seto hated even the thought of the dingy mutt in front of him.

"Shizuka..." the blond youth muttered, turning over in his sleep so that his back was to the brown-haired boy, in the process smacking Seto under the chin.

Seto sighed again, a long-suffering sound, and resisted the urge to strangle the boy.

Barely.

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Mokuba would be mad, Mokuba would be mad, Mokuba would be mad...

**********

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"So, your name is Katsuya Jounouchi, am I correct?" Ryou began, trying to start up a conversation as the two made their meandering way through the giant floors of the palace.

"Yeah. Most people call me Jou, though. You cin too, if ya want," he grinned and Ryou smiled back.

"All right, then. Jou it is." His brown eyes softened. "Now, I am sure you have things you would like to know. Can I be of any help?"

"Well..." Jounouchi thought about it for a moment. "There is **one** thing I cin think of..."

"And that is...?"

"... Y'see... when ya said ya 'had that effect'..." he trailed off nervously and swallowed, clearing his throat.

"Oh, that." Ryou laughed, an easy laugh that told much of his personality. "That's easy. You know I am a God, correct?" At the blond's quick nod, he continued. "Well then, that's it. It's what I am." He smiled. "I am Ryou, God of Light and Love, and of the Sky. Because I am the embodiment of Love, I get reactions like the one you experienced out of both mortals and Gods."

"Ah," was Jou's noncommittal reply, for his gaze had caught on something unusual, even in a place like this...

"My partner, Bakura, is the God of Darkness and the Earth. Because of what we are, we are the only ones that can resist each other's automatic reactions." Ryou continued. "And that's why we-- Jou? Jou, where are you?" The silver-haired boy glanced around frantically, but to no avail. Ryou grimaced.

Jou was gone. And there was only one person who had the power to lead a mortal off like that, so quickly;

"Malik."

**********

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Jou's head jerked up as he thought he heard something, amber gaze taking in his surroundings in a short moment. "...Ryou?"

He received no answer, for the silver-haired God was nowhere in sight.

"Er... Ryou! Ya there?"

Still no response.

It seemed the blond was well and totally lost.

"Crap." How was he supposed to get back to Shizuka in time to meet her when she came out of that room if he had no one to show him the way around this maze of a palace?

The answer: He wasn't.

Why, **why** had he followed that plethora of sparkling, shimmering fairy-lights away from Ryou? Sure, it had seemed a good idea at the time-- Jounouchi halfway remembered a beckoning, softly lilting voice calling him this way-- but he hadn't really even heard anything with his ears. It must have been a trick of his overactive imagination in such a place as this, right?

Right. And now he was lost, in a place that could take a lifetime to transverse. And the lights had disappeared.

Well, there was always the old saying of staying in place when one was lost so that your friends could find and rescue you. And he was almost positive that Ryou had noticed his absence by now and was already looking for him. So all he had to do was sit down and wait it out until the effeminate God located him. There couldn't possibly be **that** many places to look, could there?

He hoped not, for his sake.

The blond sighed and looked around hopefully, noticing a small stool seemingly carved out of stone instead of made with wood as stools were usually made of, and decided it looked comfortable enough to sit himself down in until someone came and found him.

Jou hadn't been waiting there long at all when he suddenly became aware of what, exactly, that peculiar sound he had been half-hearing in the back of his mind really was. He jerked up and turned his head towards the source.

Singing! Someone-- or perhaps something, since one could never tell in a place like this-- was singing, in a clear, high voice, close by!

Well, if someone was comfortable enough to be singing around here, they probably had to belong here, right? Which meant that it was probably a God or a demigod, which in turn meant that they could lead him back to Ryou!-- or at least the door that Shizuka had gone through-- right?

Right.

Grinning in triumph at his ingenuity, Jou shot up out of his seat and followed the singing, gradually becoming aware of the words as he wandered closer and closer to it's source.

"The tempter met him in the desert one day  
'Are you the son of God?  
Turn these stones into wholesome bread  
And make your hunger stop.'  
  
Even though his hunger had grown real strong  
He turned and simply replied,  
'Man does not live on bread alone  
But on the word of God.'  
  
'Turn from him and worship me  
And the kingdoms of the world are yours.'  
  
'Away from me with your evil ways  
'Cause I worship and serve only God.'  
  
Why don't you  
Skid-il-ly-doo?  
'Cause I don't wanna see your face  
Around here no more.  
  
Why don't you  
Skid-il-ly-doo?  
'Cause this is now  
And that was before..." [3]

Jou paused as he found himself in front of another set of titanic carved doors (what was with these people and their fetish for gargantuan closed doors, anyway?), then shrugged off the funny feeling of dread that was whirling in the pit of stomach and pushed them open.

Inside lay a wonderland.

It was a garden, shimmering and beautiful, huge and vast. Waterfalls trickled wherever the blond looked, springs both hot and cold were everywhere, and everything was a vibrant **green.** All sorts of flora met his wondering eyes, and everything seemed healthy and alive.

At the center of this huge greenhouse-- for this could only be the exact and truest sense of the word-- were a pair of colossal trees, towering so high that their tops were lost to the naked eye. And this was where the singing was originating from.

As Jou approached the two giant trees, he found that their appearance and fruit was also unusual-- for one tree was almost too bright to look at without shading one's eyes, while the other looked almost sickly up close, compared to the first. The shining tree held fruit of purest gold, in the shape of shining apples, and the duller one bore seeds of a pale silver that gleamed dully in comparison.

It was behind the enormous trunk of the second tree that he located the singer; it seemed to be a young boy, maybe ten or twelve years at the most, wearing another set of pure-white robes that only fell to his knees, though the clothing was no longer white-- instead it was a dull brown from the kneeling the child was doing in the dirt, the robes littered with leaves and thin twigs. The boy's straw-colored hair gleamed cleanly against his dusky skin, however, and he seemed to be having fun, playing with a set of strangely familiar deep black marbles beneath the shade of the tree.

"Um..." Jou began haltingly, and that was all it took. The child looked up immediately, stared at him for a moment, then jumped up as if the ground burned him, the move was so fast, getting right into Jou's face. The blond blinked at the strange reaction and took a step back, glad when the boy didn't take one towards him in return. "...Hi?" he finished lamely, the word coming out in a squeak.

The strange child stared at him for agonizing moment, and for some reason this made Jou a bit irritated. "Look, kid. 'M lost, and lookin' for someone. I don't need ya actin' nutso, okay? Hey, and what is dis place, anyway?" his sweeping gesture encompassed everything around them.

Still, the boy did not answer, his unnerving violet eyes boring intensely into Jou's own amber gaze.

Finally, just as the blond was about to explode in a string of imaginative curses concerning the child's questionable intelligence, he spoke.

"Hii!!" the boy exclaimed, stepping forward and grabbing Jou's hand in a tight grip, pumping it erratically in a child-like greeting. The boy broke out into a brilliant smile. "You must be the humans Isis-Ishizuu-neesan was telling everyone about!! I'm glad you made it!! Oh!!" and, remarkably, the boy stilled from the exited movements he had just commenced.

Jou hadn't thought it was possible for someone that **hyper** to be that still. But it was only for a brief moment, and then the child became as active and full of motion as before.

"I'm Marik!! Actually, my name's Malik, but I like Marik better, don't you??" The child's grin grew wider when Jounouchi could only nod in stunned silence, and for a moment the blond was sure he saw... **something**... lurking behind the reflective mask of those violet eyes.

"Welcome to the Garden of Eden!"

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[1] - _Goddess of Wine and Fertility _- For those of you who don't know this, I am sort of giving Isis the role of Bacchus/Dionysus from the ancient Roman/Greek mythology. ^.^; It was the first thing that popped into my head when I began writing this chapter.

[2] - _Otogi Ryuuji the Doctor _- Er... His last name _is_ Ryuuji, isn't it? I hope so. ^.^; And I have _no_ idea why I made him the God's Physician. His was the first name that came to mind when I needed someone to look at Shizuka-chan. Besides, this could be the beginning of a beautiful relationship between him and her. O.o;

[3] - _Malik's Song _- The second chorus of the lyrics at the top of the prologue. ^.^ "The Devil Is Bad" by _The W's._

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Jou: Yer gonna make me do something stupid again, aren't ya? *accusing glare*

Nozomi: *innocent look* Not _stupid, _Jounouchi-kun, just... ignorant? *grin* Besides, could you resist-- *leans over and whispers in his ear*...?

Jou: o.o Wha--? Why, you--! *tries to strangle her*

Nozomi: *jumps out of the way* Thren-chan! Help me!

Threnody: *dry look* It's your fault for writing such a pathetic excuse for a story and getting the characters in trouble like you do. Deal with it.

Nozomi: *runs away* R&R, minnaaaaa~!!

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IMPORTANT NOTICE:

Okay, listen up minna-san! I'm a bit stuck on this story, and need everyone's help! I'm trying to decide just what type of world Seto and Mokuba live in, and what era. Like, medieval? Or later, somewhat parallel to our world as it is now? I need to decide before I can write the next chapter, so any help is appreciated!

Please leave a review with suggestions, or drop me a line at empressminako@yahoo.com

Love to all,  
Nozomi


	3. A Couple of Words had Changed Our Sound

Chapter Warnings: a bit of cursing, slight angst, the let's-humiliate-Jou chapter!, slight bit of humor

Full Story Summary: _Cursed to wander the four corners of the earth, trapped eternally in an endless circle of incarnations in which he remembers all that is past. It all sprang from one forbidden taste of the Fruit of the Tree of Knowledge, and now Jounouchi Katsuya must find redemption and grace in the unlikeliest of places -- a single, tainted human._

Many Thanks Go Out To: **Blue Lagoon Loon **(And that something is correct, yo! ^.^), **Lady Geuna **(Jou gladly accepts your luck. He'll need it, after the hell I'm gonna put him through.), **Youko Duet **(*bows* Thank you! I love that song, too), **Demonic Angel**, **Hyatt Insomnia**, and **The 7th Toraphim **(Er... O.o God? No, I don't think so. ^.^;), for all the pretty reviews! *huggles them all*

And, since I stupidly forgot to mention it in the last two chapters, _none of the songs I have used/will use belong to me_, as someone else created them. ;_;

Oh, and gomen for the short nature of this particular chapter; it's just how it wrote itself. Expect the next chapter to be about this same length, then hopefully chapter four will be about twice as long.

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This Is Now and That Was Before  


**_Chapter Two: A Couple of Words had Changed Our Sound _

The first traces of false dawn were just peeking in on Seto through the open window as the brown-haired teen was replacing the cloth on his unwelcome guest's forehead. All throughout the night before, the blond had tossed and turned fitfully, never once wakening, yet drifting dangerously close to doing so several times before being dragged back down into the deep and treacherous waters of his unconsciousness.

It had been a chilly night, and, compounded with the blond's raging fever, the cold had worked to keep the strange youth shivering the whole night, until Seto had had to literally bury his so-called 'guest' underneath all the blankets he could locate in the house. Which, unfortunately, wasn't much. In fact, the blue-eyes youth had even given up his own blanket, frantic that Mokuba would blame him if the boy died in the night, and now Seto sat, body chill, in the cool morning air.

The sheets were totally soiled, he noted with a sneer of disgust at the blond's lax form. The boy had had enough dirt on him to refill the desert, and all of it had rubbed off onto the stark white cloth; which Seto had just cleaned yesterday, and which, now, he'd need to clean again today. He glared, but set another wet cloth on the boy's forehead when he noticed the last was dry-- only for the material to be thrown off when the blond rolled over in his sleep.

Seto growled under his breath and stood up to retrieve the cloth and place it forcefully back where it was _supposed _to stay, on the boy's forehead, fighting off what was left of the fever after it had broken late last night-- when he heard a low moan, and found himself looking into the most startling pair of amber-flecked eyes....

**********

__

Although the twisted remnants of his dreams-- no, more accurate to call them nightmares; nightmares of the unforgiving past-- his nightmares clawed at him, trying to pull him down into the waiting darkness once again, a clean slate for them to feed upon, he could feel himself floating upwards, a lightness that was somehow new and rewarding.

Jou felt himself drift away, away from watching himself and the child-turned-demon, away from that tempting scene and those haunting words. Away from the wounds that had never healed in the first place....

As he fell; floated; fell upwards, he found himself becoming more and more aware of slight pains all down his limbs, then of those points gradually growing bigger, intensifying. A dull throbbing exploded in his temple, and something unbearably cold was placed against his brow, and all the while he was so _hot..._

He groaned feebly, feeling bile rise up in throat as the sluggishness in his limbs finally registered in his brain, and so did the heaviness that was causing the feeling.

So. Someone had saved him from the harsh desert sands, after all. He supposed he should be grateful to whomever was so kindhearted enough to do such a thing, but all he could feel at the moment was despair and listlessness.

Jou was surprised when he felt the dipping of the bed next to him, as if someone was leaning in for a close look at him, as if he were some kind of freak to gawk at, and slowly slipped his tired eyes open, glaring daggers at whoever had the absolute audacity to--

Amber clashed violently with shocking blue, and for an instant Jou found another, younger pair of blue eyes, set in a childlike face, superimposed over these.

Caught off of his guard, the blond found himself instinctively pushing backwards towards the rather unyielding bed, away from this strange person who was _way_ too close for comfort. He stifled the gasp that the sudden movement caused as his muscles and wounds cried out in protest, and instead settled for conveying all of his pain through a heated glare directed at the boy who was in his face.

The instant those blue eyes retreated, Jou scrambled backwards as far as he could go, feeling the coolness of the wall as his back came in contact with the smooth surface, pulling the sheets with him to pool around his waist. "Who--?" he gasped out, lightheaded. The blond grimaced at the taste and feel of gritty sand in his mouth, reaching up to wipe it on the back of his hand in disgust.

The boy perched on a small stool in front of him smirked, those cool eyes glittering at him in the morning light. "So the mutt is finally awake. I didn't know if you'd last the night."

Jou scowled at the impromptu nickname, feeling his face heat up. "Shut up!"

A lone chestnut eyebrow raised. "...So you've a temper as well. Typical mongrel."

The blond was silent, though his honey eyes told another story altogether. _This is the guy who saved me? This asshole? What kinda drug was he **on**?_

When, after a moment, the brown-haired youth had made no attempt to start up another conversation to fill the void of silence, Jou snorted in disgust and flopped himself back down in the bed, turning his face away from his host and towards the blank wall. _I don't care **what** this guy did, cause I don't like him. He's unnerving with those eyes of his, and a downright jerk otherwise._

Pulling the sheets closer to himself for warmth, Jou distantly heard the boy stand behind him and leave the room without another word, feet almost silent on the stone floor, and the thin blond heaved a small sigh of relief when those footsteps echoed away, tension easing out of him in that breath. He was left with little time to himself, however, for less than a few moments later, his ears perked up at the pitter-patter of running feet coming closer to the room.

The footsteps stopped right behind him, pausing. Then...

"You're awake!"

Jou found himself involuntarily jumping, startled at the proximity of the rather childish voice speaking right in his ear. Someone else was here...? The blonde rolled his eyes and turned over to face this newest acquaintance. _Nothin' fer it, I s'ppose._

A pair of inquisitive emerald eyes stared back at him less than an inch away, and this time Jou couldn't suppress a slight yelp. The child-- barely more than a boy, really-- didn't seem to notice his surprise, just smiled broadly at him from underneath an unruly mop of longish ebony hair.

"Hi! I'm Mokuba! Are you alright?"

Jou smiled. "Yeah, kid, 'm..." he coughed violently, a handful of sand falling out of his hair as the violent motion wracked his body, "...fine." The statement was punctuated by a sharp sneeze, and Mokuba's leaf-green eyes narrowed marginally, making him look remarkably like the older youth Jou had found so annoying, the blond thought wryly.

"Are you sure? You don't look so good."

"Yeah, fine, fine." He waved the kid off. "Nothin' ta worry 'bout, kid. But... ah... thanks fer... ya know...."

Mokuba's accommodating grin, if possible, grew wider. "Oh, it was no big deal, we couldn't just leave you out there. And it was mostly Seto's doing, anyway."

__

Seto? Jou wondered, one eyebrow twitching slightly, _That bastard?_ He filed the information away for future reference-- not that he could have easily forgotten it, anyway, given the circumstances.

"So, are you hungry?" Mokuba asked, lips pursed in thought. "Or thirsty? I'm sure you are, after sleeping for so long and almost dying. What would you like? And... hey, what's your name, anyway?"

The blond couldn't resist the urge to yawn, but that only reintroduced his headache to his tired mind-- rather explosively, I might add. He winced. "Katsuya Jounouchi. Nice ta meetcha, painkillers would be nice."

"Here." The black-haired child reached over and picked up a small clay vial from the short table next to the bed, depositing the jar into Jou's outstretched hand. "This should help a little, 'till Seto can make some specifically for headaches."

He twisted the top off of the vial and gratefully poured the whole of its contents in to his waiting mouth-- only to retch, eyes watering. "What the hell _is_ dis stuff?"

Mokuba blinked up at him, slightly puzzled by his reaction. "Herbal medicine, of course," he said simply.

Jou reached over and set the bottle carefully back down on the end table, forcing himself to swallow despite his watering eyes, his face scrunching up at the horrible flavor that assaulted his tongue. "...It tastes like donkey shit."

"Well, it works."

The blond swallowed fitfully again, trying to get the overbearing taste out of his mouth. It wasn't exactly successful. "If ya say so, kid."

"He does."

Jou blinked at the utterly cold and unfriendly voice, turning to see the older of the two boys staring at him with those cold, dark eyes from the doorway.

"I made it myself."

The blond sneered, ruffled that he'd been caught off guard by this annoying prick a second time, and wondering how long the blue-eyed youth had been standing there. "So dat's why it's so revoltin'." If he had been expecting to get a rise out of the boy, however, he was sorely disappointed, as Seto didn't even blink to show he'd heard the blond's jibe.

"Mokuba, could you make something to eat?"

"Sure thing, big brother!" the boy chirped, then turned to give Jou one of his querying glances. "Would you like some, too?"

The mere thought of food at that particular moment sent Jou's stomach in a rather violent upheaval, but he nodded minutely, not wanting to disappoint the boy. Mokuba smiled and rushed out of the room, and but a few moments later Jou could hear the faint clatter of pots and pans from what he assumed was the kitchen.

The distinct feeling of being stared at brought him back to his surroundings, as well as adding a chill that crawled up his spine. He turned to glare at Seto, who had moved to stand at the foot of the bed and was still smirking at him in amusement, and the blond found himself almost unconsciously tightening the sheets around his body. This guy gave him the creeps. "I don't enjoy bein' stared at like 'm an animal, ya know."

"...'Katsuya'?"

Jou scowled and twitched uncomfortably, not liking the uncontrollable flush that started across the bridge of his nose. "So? It's the name my mom gave me." _The first one, anyway._ "If ya don't like it so much, use 'Jou', prissy boy."

"Alright... mutt." Ignoring the blond's protesting growl, Seto calmly picked up one end of the sheet that was currently wrapped around Jou. "Get up."

"...What?"

"Get. Up," the brown-haired youth accented the second word with a sharp tug on the soiled sheets.

"Hey--!" With a jarring _thunk_, the amber-eyed youth found himself on the hard stone floor, minus the protecting sheets and plus another bruise or two on his rear end. "Why, you--"

Seto snickered triumphantly, eyes glittering with malicious mischievousness, and Jou blinked, surprised. _What's so...?_

It was only then that he became aware of something that, up until now, hadn't been of much importance to him at the time.

He was completely naked.

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Nozomi: *giggles uncontrollably*

Jou: *glare* You're impossible, ya know that?

Nozomi: Yep! ^.^

Threnody: You know this really didn't explain anything, right?

Nozomi: Yep to that, too. ^.^; Sorry, but this is kind of an intermediate chapter. We'll have more angst, more clashing of wills between Jou and Seto, more Mokuba-cheerfulness, then finally more angst/drama-stuff, again in the next chappie.

'Till then, read and review, minna-saaaan! Reviews are my inspiration, and they push me to write faster for you guys, yo!

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BTW: Let me know if anyone seems too OOC, and I'll try and tone it down, since I want this to be realistic, not an 'oh-you're-cute-lets-have-sex-I-love-you' type of fic. Don't worry, though, there will be _plenty_ of Seto/Jou-ness, as I can't deprive the bishounen for too long, now can I? ^.^

ALso, please point out any spelling or grammatical errors. 

*pokes readers* Would anyone like the other Yuugiou characters in this fic, besides in just flashbacks (minus Malik, since I already have a plan for him)? Let me know, and, if you do, exactly _who_ you'd like. ^.^

And, last but not least, does anyone have any good Seto/Jou, Yami/Yugi, or Bakura/Ryou pics and/or doujinshi? Links to them? Or perhaps just the pictures? *puppydogeyes* I hardly have _any_, compared to my other fandom's pictures!

Comments of any kind appreciated! Click that _'Go' _button! Even three words will do!


	4. Truer Than the Heart of He Who Speaks

Chapter Warnings: cursing, polytheism, slight angst, Bastard!Seto, Moody!Jou, tiny hints of a het pairing (*gasp*)

Full Story Summary: _Cursed to wander the four corners of the earth, trapped eternally in an endless circle of incarnations in which he remembers all that is past. It all sprang from one forbidden taste of the Fruit of the Tree of Knowledge, and now Jounouchi Katsuya must find redemption and grace in the unlikeliest of places -- a single, tainted human._

Many Thanks Go Out To: **Kaneda-Shotaro and Yami Tetsuo**, **daisy**, **Hyatt Insomnia**, **Blue Lagoon Loon**, **Lady Geuna**, **Neko-chan**, **Ishida Kat** (Nope, he keeps getting reborn into a new infantile body after he dies, actually. ^.^;), **Kakarots-Frying-Pan**, and **Jadej.j**. Thanks so much, you guys! *glomp*

Oh, yes, and _What If God Was One of Us_, by someone whose name I can't remember right now (Help me?) does not belong to me, either.

Enjoy!

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This Is Now and That Was Before  


_Chapter Three: Truer Than the Heart of He Who Speaks_

Admittedly, Katsuya Jounouchi had been in tough or embarrassing situations before, and kept his cool-- well... most of the time. And, also true, he'd been purposefully humiliated quite a few times in his lives; most memorably the first one. Jou was no stranger to spite and revenge, and he made sure anyone who crossed him knew it. But _this--_

The blond felt the deep flush that spread over his entire body, seething within himself for just one crucial moment. It had been so long since he had been around people-- _real_ people, not that damned brat-- that for a moment he had failed to recall the old saying that one lie did not make someone a liar.

Similarly, one good deed obviously did not make one a saint, no matter _what_ that particular deed happened to be.

The blond leapt at Seto with an outraged growl and fire in his amber eyes, snatching the nearest corner of the no-longer-white sheet and giving a sharp tug, knocking over the small bedside table in the process and sending what was left of that disgusting so-called 'remedy' splashing across the stone floor. But the brown-haired youth held fast to his own side of the cloth and forcibly pulled it towards himself.

"Let. Go."

"_Like Hell!_ Ya perverted _bastard_!_"_

Abruptly, Jou felt the other side of the sheet give, and the blond fell back onto the bed with a thud, guided by the misplaced momentum and the exploding pain on the left side of his head from the sharp blow the other boy had just dealt him. The shorter of the two felt a hammering pain rip through his temple and instinctively curled up, whimpering, eyes wide and clouded by pain. He retched, but the movement only made the feeling worse.

Seto sneered at the volatile, whimpering puppy curled up before him. Weak. So god-damned _weak_. And that remark...

"I assure you, I have no wish to _see,_" and he made sure even the mutt could hear the ridicule in his voice, "anything that you might have to offer."

The blond's head cleared instantly at those words, and he reached out blindly, lucking grabbing the front of the bastard's shirt and pulling Seto's body down until the blond could look up and be staring at Seto face-to-face. So, he was a dog _and_ a whore now, was he?

"If you _ever_," he hissed, getting so close to Seto that he could see that the other's eyes weren't _quite_ all blue, but had black in there as well. Seto, for his part, was silent. "_If you ever _touch me, I will personally kill you, ya got that?" With his free hand he reached up and lightly, threateningly, wrapped it around the blue-eyed youth's neck. "_If you ever--"_

Two things happened then. The first, and the more predictable, was that Seto slapped his hand away as if he had some kind of life-threatening disease. The second, and more important, was--

"Oniichan! Breakfast will be ready soon!" Mokuba's cheerful grin seemed to light up the room when he poked his head in, green eyes shining at the fact that he could be helpful for someone who needed him. "Please wash up, both of you!"

Seto stood up quickly as Jou pulled the hard-won sheets closer around him, feeling naked even with the cloth covering his lower half and not able to stop the dark flush that dusted his cheeks and the bridge of his nose.

"Jounouchi-kun, why don't you take a bath? All that dirt looks really uncomfortable. And I'm sure Seto wouldn't mind lending you some of him clothes, cause mine wouldn't fit, right, Oniichan?"

The younger of the siblings had retracted his head and was halfway down the hall before Seto could even formulate a reply-- not that he could have denied Mokuba anything. This once, though, the idea was starting to look tempting.

Very tempting.

The blond mutt shifted on the bed-- Seto's bed; _his bed--_ sending a sly gaze the brunette's way. " 'Oniichan'? What tha hell is that?"

Seto resisted the urge to deck him again. Barely. _Can't hurt him right now, Mokuba's in the next room._ "Mokuba learned it from some girl we met in the village when he was young; 'Sakura' or something like it. [1] It means 'Big Brother' in some ancient tongue. He's been using it ever since." Although why he bothered to explain anything to this buffoon was beyond him. He should have just kept his mouth shut; it was amusing to watch the blond squirm, and now he looked positively smug, as if the mutt had taken something Seto wouldn't usually give.

"And what was that 'Jounouchi-kun' shit?"

"Also from the ancient tongue." He answered shortly, not really answering at all. Let the blond wonder. Perhaps it would keep him out of Seto's way for awhile.

"A--" Jou sputtered as a small pile of clothes hit him square in the face, glaring at the other but not feeling up to getting into another brawl just yet. At the moment, Seto had the advantage, since the bastard didn't hurt all over or have Jou's pounding headache-- and not all of it was from his almost dying, either.

"Washroom's down the stairs and two doors down, on the right. Don't break anything, or you'll have to work for it. And make it fast."

Convulsively crumbling the thin clothing into a ball, Jou said nothing, just watching Seto intently as the other youth strode calmly out of the room, opposite the way he had told the blond to go.

**********

It took him awhile, but soon enough Jounouchi found himself standing-- limping, rather-- in front of the washroom door, panting heavily and aching in a hundred more places than before. The stairs had been the real killer, and twice he had to pause to cause his breath and steady his noodle-like legs before he could go even a step further. It seemed he had really worn his body down.

Jou did not like feeling weak, but he supposed it was his own damn fault this time.

He found a bar of unscented soap, a rusted iron bathtub empty of water, and a small pail full to the brim upon entering. There was also a small washrag hanging over the edge of the tub, which he picked up and dipped into the pail of water.

The water was warm, but there wasn't nearly enough to wash oneself with, and especially not to fill the tub. Jou glanced around and finally spotted a spout protruding from the wall about the washtub. He grinned.

Bingo.

The elation died rather quickly when the found the switch and released a sudden rush of water onto his still-clothed body. If you could really call what he was wearing _clothes_ anymore.

Damn, but that water was cold. He bit his lip to keep from shrieking like some girl and instead used the saved energy to shiver uncontrollably as he quickly stripped out of the dirt-and-mud-stained rags he still wore. That explained it; he was supposed to rinse off most of the dirt and grime with the spray, and them wash more thoroughly with the warm water.

He would take a warm, relaxing bath over this any day.

Thankfully, the spray warmed up a bit after awhile, and he could concentrate on other things rather than being frozen to death-- not that he wanted to, because thinking always lead him to the inevitable.

"If God had a face, what would it look like, and would you want to see, if seeing meant that you would have to believe, in things like Heaven and in Jesus and the saints, and all the prophets?"

Well, at least this unnatural memory was good for remembering the tunes and lyrics of songs, so that he'd never be entirely bored.

__

...dirt blood darkness falling death--

He jerked up and accidentally swallowed a mouthful of water, coughing and sputtering as he flailed, felt the smooth, supportive walls, calmed just a bit even as he couldn't escape.

__

--dark why is it so dark a smell a bad smell... please leave me alone I don't like you where am I--

--dark always dark there is no light LEAVE ME ALONE please... just please...

...curled up into himself, crying floating going everywhere nowhere TRAPPED--

GO AWAY!

With a gasp the blond blinked, panting and hurting again, every ache multiplied. Light. He could see again.

__

"Hey there, hon. You look lost."

He swallowed, and suddenly the pain in his chest had nothing to do with physical injuries.

__

"Here, let me help you with that."

Sunshine, leather, smoke and silk--

The blond's knees gave way then, and with a mental sob-- not out loud, never out loud, even though he could always tell-- Jou sank to his knees and wrapped his arms around his shivering body.

There was no way to tell whether the wetness on his cheeks was from the shower or his tears.

**********

When the blond finally made his appearance in the kitchen, Seto and Mokuba had already finished most of their meals. The older Kaiba brother looked up as Jou entered, ready to toss some scathing remark about taking such a long time in the washroom, but did a double take the instant he set eyes on the mutt. What--

"Jounouchi-kun! Why are you wearing--"

For one moment, Seto was completely speechless. Was the boy crazy?

Jou flushed. "Sorry 'bout that, I just..."

The blond was wearing what looked like every single piece of clothing Seto owned, barring the ones the blue-eyed youth was already in. Granted, he didn't have a whole lot of clothing, but this was...

Ridiculous. The boy had gone through _his_ property without so much as a 'by your leave', when Seto had already given him something decent to wear.

"I was... cold," Jou finished lamely, avoiding Seto's narrowed gaze and sitting quickly in front of the plate of untouched food, correctly guessing that it was his. "Thanks for the chow," he muttered, then started mechanically shoveling it into his mouth, not caring what it was or how it tasted.

After a moment of strained silence Mokuba went back to his own meal, but Seto kept staring at their unwanted guest, seething inside though his face betrayed nothing. What had possessed the boy to do something so _stupid _and juvenile he--

He caught himself, and stared at the puppy awhile longer before looking away. Could the mutt actually--

He smirked. That must be it.

Quickly finishing off the rest of his meal, Seto stood up and stretched languidly, feeling the muscles in his back pop and feeling better for it. "I'm going to bed," he announced, mainly for Mokuba's benefit, and turned to head towards his room, despite the fact that it was only midmorning. He had been up all night, due to a certain puppy. As it was he would have to sleep with no sheets. It would take a week to wash the blond's smell out of the cloth.

As he passed Jou, he paused for half a second, smirked, and muttered, "Doesn't it unnerve you that, underneath all that clothing, you're still completely naked?" before casually continuing onward, pretending to ignore the blond's startled intake of breath.

Score another for Seto Kaiba.

**********

The instant Seto's head hit the pillow he was sound asleep-- so deep a sleep that nothing out of the ordinary would have wakened him, and even something out of the ordinary would have a hard time doing so.

As it was, he was vaguely aware of a familiar sound about halfway through his slumber-- familiar, but not something he should have been hearing right then. The noise dragged him briefly to some sort of semi-consciousness before he dismissed it as nothing and fell back into the welcoming arms of sleep.

He was awakened rather rudely sometime later by a yell of 'oniichan!' right next to his ear. Seto groaned and rolled over, trying desperately to escape the owner of that voice, but it was to no avail.

"Oniichan! Wake up! It's important!"

Moaning something under his breath, Seto opened bleary eyes and groggily sat up, blinking to focus his gaze on his treasured little brother. "Mm... what is it, Mokuba? I'm trying to sleep..." He vaguely noticed a pile of his clothes out of the corner of his eyes and inwardly grimaced. If the mutt thought to run around his house naked just to spite him, he had another thing coming to him.

"Oniichan, Jounouchi-kun's gone!"

*

*

*

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[1] - Sakura - A reference to Kinomoto Sakura, from CLAMPs 'Card Captor Sakura'. I love that show, and Touya and Yukito make the most _adorable_ couple. Sakura does call Touya 'oniichan'. No, this will not be a crossover. No characters from other animes will show up, because I despise crossovers most of the time. -.-; They have to be really believable for me to like them.

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Nozomi: *bursts in maniacal laughter*

Jou: *sweatdrops* Oh great, now I'm some freak who wears too much clothing, huh?

Seto: *massages his temples tiredly* Tell me I get to strangle the puppy when I find him, please? Because I know Mokuba's going to make me go look for the inconsiderate mutt.

Mokuba: Oniichan, please! *big shoujo starry eyes*

Seto: *melts* Alright.

Nozomi: *continues to laugh* C&C, minna-san! Onegai! Tell me what you think and if everyone seems IC~!


End file.
